


Gray Streaks

by Stoll_mydam_heart



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Also Percy just being amazing, F/M, Fluff, I kept seeing gray streak HC’s, here you go, lots of fluff, so I figured why not try it, while I try and figure out my fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28738002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stoll_mydam_heart/pseuds/Stoll_mydam_heart
Summary: Annabeth was 14 when she held the weight of the world on her shoulders, the only thing symbolizing she’d survived was gone. And along with it, at least to her, a connection to Percy.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	Gray Streaks

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of an impulse post but I really like it so I hope you enjoy, I’m dealing with writers block so this was my solution

Annabeth was 14 when she held up the sky. If she thought back to it, she could still feel her chest constricting, tears running down her face as Luke stared at her with no remorse or empathy in his expression. It was almost a full day, her arms and legs violently shaking from the strain, at any minute she was about to collapse and be killed by the literal weight of the world on her shoulders.

Artemis took the weight, releasing her but capturing herself. Annabeth could barely move, but felt what was going to be the second greatest relief she’d ever felt in her life when it was taken away. The first was realizing Percy wasn’t dead after blowing up Mount St. Helens. A while later, Percy showed up and he took the world. While she fought off hordes of monsters, her mind was completely disengaged, resisting the urge to look back at Percy and make sure he was okay. The one time she allowed herself to, she had to fight back a sob.

His features were stretched and twisted, his entire body was shaking, it was clear he wouldn’t last much longer but he had to. She knew he could. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he didn’t.

Luckily they’d made it out, but were each left with a gray streak in their hair, as a reminder of what they had done. Annabeth, at first, had been bothered by it. It stood out and made her feel self conscious but eventually, she grew to love it. It served as a symbol that she’d survived and not only that, but it made her feel connected to Percy. They’d both been through the same thing, gaining the same streak and to her, even though they were fairly close at the time, it made them grow closer.

Later, when they had started dating, Percy liked to specifically play with that strand. Silver spun through gold. Both precious. For many nights, they would lay together and he would play with her hair, hands interlacing through the locks but they always ended up fiddling with that specific one.

It hurt her more than she wanted to admit when the streaks faded. Even though she still loved Percy, and she knew he loved her and it was probably completely irrational, she felt like it had disconnected them in a way. Percy hadn’t seemed to mind, and he still always played with her hair, but she noticed he tended to gravitate to where the streak used to be.

Now she was 20 years old, hands bracketing the edges of the sink as she stared into the mirror, her scrutinizing expression reflecting back to her. Annabeth’s eyes roamed her face until eventually landing on the same space they always did. The blonde ringlet that used to trophy her streak. Caught up in her own memories, she didn’t hear the bathroom door open, but she saw Percy’s sleepy reflection come into the mirror as he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head in the crook of her neck. Percy pressed a gentle kiss to her jaw giving a happy sigh before studying them in the mirror.

She wondered if he ever had this type of inner turmoil about something so insignificant. Though, it didn’t feel insignificant to her. He looked into her eyes from the reflection asking a silent question.  _ What’s wrong _ . He knew when she was thinking about something that bothered her, he always did.

She sighed and shook her head. His expression turned into obvious disbelief, lips pressing together the slightest bit more, eyes narrowing slightly. Annabeth’s eyes flickered for a moment to the strand hanging against her cheek and understanding dawned on him.

Percy raised one of his arms, hand lightly twisting the strand, threading it between his fingers as he did so often. He looked back into her eyes from the mirror.

“You miss it.” A simple statement to which she nodded once more. He straightened, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and burying his face in her curls. He was quiet for a moment before murmuring, “So do I.”

She looked away from the mirror for the first time, facing him fully. “You do?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted, looking back to the reflection in the mirror, to which she now had her back to. “Not nearly as much as you though.” He trailed his hand along the edge of her face, reaching her chin and lifting it with two fingers, tilting her head up for a kiss. It was sweet, his lips moving softly against hers.

When he pulled away his eyebrows creased, her expression still one of reminiscent sorrow delicately mixed with a deep yearning from years long lost. “Why does it bother you so much?” His tone was mere curiosity touched with a hint of worry. Annabeth knew he didn’t like seeing her like this. 

A sigh blew through her lips. “I don’t know I just…” she trailed off shaking her head. He stayed silent, waiting patiently. “Percy, we were 14, and I liked you even though I thought you were annoying and we were finally starting to really get along. With the sky, I don’t know it was like a shared experience. I guess… it felt like…”

“Like it connected us,” he finished, her eyes meeting his. She offered a small smile.

“Yeah. And then, they just went away and now,” she felt her eyes turn glassy with unshed tears. Fighting to hold them in and telling herself it was dumb there was no reason to cry yet here she was. She looked down as the first slid down her face, gliding down the curve of her cheekbone. Percy’s hand caught it, flicking it away before pulling her in.

Silent tears soaked his shirt and small sniffles echoed back in the dimly lit bathroom. He held Annabeth there for a while, soothing her, tracing small circles on her back until her unsteady breathing subsided.

Her head lifted and puffy red eyes met his clear, disquiet ones.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s dumb.” 

Percy shook his head. “It’s not. I promise.” Annabeth pursed her lips making no further comment. He rolled his eyes. “I mean it,” he said, playfully pushing her shoulder. She crossed her arms, leaning back against the sink as his expression grew a far away quality.

“What are you thinking?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Shut up, I can practically see the light bulb above your head.” A smile crossed his face along with a short, breathy laugh.

“Well, I know they have hair dye at the CVS like 5 minutes away.”

Her mouth held agape with the corners of her lips upturned in a disbelieving manner. “No,” she breathed.

His face lit up. “Yeah.”

“Perseus Jackson, are you saying we’re going to get cheap gray streaks from a CVS box.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

She stared at him, mouth curving upwards at his dopey smile. “Let me get changed. We’re going.”

………………………………………….

“It’s not going to work, we need to bleach it. Your hair is too dark.”

“Don’t mess up or I’m going to look old.”

She laughed, swatting his hands away, “Then stop moving!”

He straightened up and made a show of holding his breath. She lightly smacked his arm. “You’re such a dork.”

“That I am.” She rolled her eyes, focusing intently on the strand she held in her hands, lathering on the bleach before placing a piece of tinfoil over it.

“I don’t think we need the tinfoil, but I’m not really sure how this works.”

Percy laughed standing up and guiding her by her shoulders to the chair. The setup on the bathroom vanity was a little more than messy, the two boxes laying on the floor, materials scattered over top with dye spilling over. The smell of bleach filled the air, strong and heavy making them open the window in an attempt to air it out.

“Your turn Wise Girl.” His eyes sparkled and she groaned.

“Making my prayers now,” she joked, though she sent a silent wish to whatever deity that happened to be listening that it didn’t turn out too bad.

He feigned offense. “I’m not that bad. Probably.”

She buried her face in her hands. “Oh dear Gods.” He flashed a smile before separating the stand from the rest. She watched his focused expression as her hair was colored, finding it endearing how meticulous he was being, tongue between his teeth, mouth hanging the slightest bit open.

After finishing, he added tinfoil and she leaned back in the chair with a sigh, studying them both.

“This stuff smells really gross.”

He grinned. “Yeah, the Myermeks were worse though.”

“Mhm, but this is definitely top ten.”

“For sure.”

They stayed, waiting for everything to set, Annabeth having to add more bleach to his hair before finally adding the gray since his hair was such a deep raven. Finally, they removed the foil and Annabeth let out a small gasp at their reflections in the mirror. Her hand gliding up, gingerly fiddling with it, afraid it would disappear. Percy had a soft smile on his face, placing a kiss on her cheek before resting his head on her shoulder.

“Are you happy?” he asked, her eyes still fixated on the mirror in front of them as tears of joy welled, magnifying her steely eyes. 

She turned to him. “Yeah, I really am.”


End file.
